BIPOC INNOVATORS ARE

ANSWERING THE CALL

Join our national network of Spiritual Innovators.

Leading from within and outside of historical traditions and institutions, BIPOC spiritual innovators are paving the way for us to connect with the sacred in today’s world.

Produced by Lotus Malana Wong and désirée dorsainvil. Supported by the Fetzer Institute.

“Lineages of Love & Liberation”

A short film amplifying the vibrant voices and sacred wisdom of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) spiritual innovators across the nation.

Together, these innovators and organizations are building new pathways for spiritual wisdom rooted in our diverse cultural traditions and collective liberation.

THERE IS A COLLECTIVE NEED FOR SPIRITUAL INNOVATION NOW.

Purple outline of praying hands with radiating lines, symbolizing spirituality or prayer.

In the United States fewer than half of people belong to a house of worship – 47% in 2021, compared to 70% in 1999. Religious institutions are closing at unprecedented rates while everyday people hunger for spiritual community..and connection with all that is larger than ourselves.  

Source: GALLUP

Abstract line drawing of a person with tangled hair and wearing overalls, purple on black background.

Growing numbers of people around the world are grappling with profound stress and insecurity in the face of compounding stressors (e.g., deteriorating economic prospects, climate change, mis/disinformation, polarization).

Source: UNDP

A group of people sitting and standing in a wooded outdoor setting, with one woman speaking.

How to join the movement…

We’re inviting Innovators, Leaders and Organizations to:

  1. Join our BIPOC Innovators Directory

  2. Reach out to other BIPOC Innovators in the network

  3. Subscribe to our newsletter (see footer) and participate in future convenings!

How BIPOC spiritual innovators are leading the way……

Person holding a drum by a lake with rocks and autumn trees in the background.

HEALING

Illustration of mortar and pestle with leaves

Healing practitioners and wisdom keepers offer sacred medicines of all kinds – teaching, practices, communities, spaces for rest and renewal – that address individual, collective, and generational trauma.

Older woman wearing glasses, a bright pink jacket, and colorful earrings, sitting outdoors with blurred green background.
Concentric circles of purple dots on black background

RECOVERING & RECLAIMING

Creating spaces for lineages that have been historically impacted by colonialism and imperialism. Practicing and stewarding together while honoring cultural origins and attending to risks of appropriation.

Man sitting on the floor indoors, wearing a blue and orange patterned shirt, gesturing with hands, whiteboard in the background.
Illustration of a hand holding a microphone

RECKONING & RETELLING

Investigating areas where religion has been interpreted from patriarchal, classist, racist, sexist, etc. lenses, providing spaces for spiritual healing and retelling the stories of traditional lineages through the voices and narratives of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other impacted communities.

A person performing a ritual or blessing with a group, including monks, outdoors.
Illustration of an eye with teardrop shapes surrounding it, in a sketchy style with a purple color scheme.

REIMAGINING

Retaining the essence of religious and wisdom lineages while reimagining the infrastructure for how spirituality is accessed and delivered.

Group of people gathered in a forest setting, some with hands in a prayer gesture, standing on a wooden platform surrounded by trees.
Hand-drawn purple sketch of a globe showing Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia and the Americas.

Bringing forth spiritual practices and teachings that inspire people toward envisioning and enacting a more just and loving world. Being architects of the future and holders of emerging worldviews and stories that are ancient and new at the same time.

WORLD BUILDING

Person with curly hair speaking into a microphone at a podium outdoors.

“There are few things greater than BIPOC joy, than Indigenous joy… On the other side of harm, there can be post-traumatic growth and profound wisdom and power. This is necessary wisdom and medicine for our broader world. . . The systems that caused the harm in the first place unfortunately are still in operation. . . We have a wealth of wisdom; an ecosystem that is supportive can help it grow and thrive.”

~ Kohenet April N. Baskin, Joyous Justice

Featured Organizations

Group of Indigenous people in traditional attire holding a ceremonial item inside a room with large windows.

  • Rematriation is a multi-media initiative engaging in film production, digital content creation and community engagement. Rematriation is the home of Rematriation Magazine and, most importantly, a community of Haudenosaunee and Indigenous women choosing to heal together. We continue to re-imagine the ways in which a “magazine” can shift narratives, defy stereotypes, and reflect our own experiences.

    Rematriation is a Haudenosaunee-led, digital storytelling platform connecting Haudenosaunee and Indigenous women across Turtle Island and around the world. We rematriate through Indigenous women-led, in person gatherings; online, Indigenous women-only spaces; and initiatives designed to educate the public and build allies.

  • Intended Community:

    Rematriation supports Indigenous women gatherings in the restoration of individual, family, and community-based wellness. Rematriation’s programs and content engages Haudenosaunee and Indigenous Sisters across Turtle Island, including Canada, Mexico and New Zealand.

  • admin@rematriation.com

  • We are supporting Black folks in getting and keeping their minds right and reducing stress in under 15 minutes with breath work, meditations, affirmations, mood check, journaling, and more.

  • Intended community:

    African American community

  • King David Walker Jr.

    kingdavid@blackfullness.com

    https://www.blackfullness.com/

  • The Nap Ministry was founded in 2016 by Tricia Hersey and is an organization that examines the liberating power of naps. Our “REST IS RESISTANCE” framework and practice engages with the power of performance art, site-specific installations, and community organizing to install sacred and safe spaces for the community to rest together.

  • Intended Community:

    BIPOC with a focus on the African American community, especially women.

  • https://thenapministry.wordpress.com/

  • The Octavia Fund tends the seeds of new worlds through rest, restoration, and healing for Black women.

    Our vision is of a world where Black women are rested, well-resourced, and living their liberation now; they fully express their gifts to drive transformative change in their lives and communities.

  • Intended Community:

    We strive to create a space that is welcoming for folks who identify as transgender, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, womxn, and other identities beyond the binary.

  • https://octaviafund.org/

  • "The Street Church" or "The Church Without Walls", is what many have come to call us.  THE ROW-LA is a church, quite literally, without walls.  We have no physical building.  For us, this is a constant reminder that a building does not make God's church - people do.  We meet worship, praise, feed, and fellowship every Friday night in downtown Los Angeles at 7pm, on the streets of Skid Row - America's homeless capital.

    Our goal for the last 18 years has been to serve those in need; feeding people both spiritually & physically.  If you're interested in hearing the Word of God, receiving a hot meal, or you're just curious to see how God is moving where you may have least expected it, THE ROW readily welcomes everyone!

  • Intended Community:

    The Row Church welcomes everyone.

  • https://www.therowchurch.com/

  • Healing by Choice! (HbC!) is a diverse circle of Women and Gender Non-Conforming Health and Healing Practitioners of color based in Waawiiyatanong / Detroit, MI. HbC! is engaged in healing justice work through listening deeply to our communities and what is needed at this time on the clock of the world. Our practices range from energy work like Reiki and Craniosacral to group support via spaces to hold grief, transformative conflict support, workshops on relieving stress, childbirth education, and therapeutic art.

    We call ourselves Healing by Choice! because we get to make the choice about how and when healing happens and uphold that each of us is the expert of our own experience(s). That is one of the reasons we use the exclamation point. It says that we will be open and upfront about our healing. It is not in the background, or an afterthought, as it so often has been in society. We are inspired, in part, by Adela Nieves Martinez, our founder, INCITE! Women, Gender Non-Conforming and Trans people of Color Against Violence, and are are making a point of our existence and our practice.

  • Intended Community:

    HbC! does most of our work with Detroit-area groups. We choose to center and serve the most marginalized/ generationally traumatized groups of our communities. We also aim to support folks involved in justice movements in order to increase their resiliency.

  • Amanda Hill (Mage of Operations)

    healingbychoicedetroit@gmail.com